"Fixin It"

15 March 2010

We arrived at Seattle Children's hospital at 6:45 a.m. Kyle started to become "un-impressed" when we sat in the surgical waiting room instead of our usual spot near the clinic. He was incredibly un-happy to put on the gown and robe. When Dr. Avellino came in and asked how we were feeling, I said, "Nervous." His reply, "Nervous? There's nothing to be nervous about. This is a walk in the park!" Maybe it was going to be for him -- but that's not how I felt! Kyle displayed his nerves, by "beating-up" Red Dog -- his stuffed dog that he had at his last surgery.

At about 8:15 a.m. they loaded Kyle in a wheelchair, and let me walk alongside him as we went to the O.R. There were nurses, and techs and anesthesiologists and others preparing the room and equipment, and as we came through the door, Kyle raised his arm to wave and said, "Heelloooo", like there was a big party....just for him. And I guess there was! We helped Kyle onto the operating table and I stood there while they put a mask, with orange flavored gas, over his mouth and nose -- the anesthesiologist attempted to attach the pulse oximeter (the little red light), and since he was not asleep he fought her. I told her that he hates that little red light more than anything, and she said, "It's the only thing that doesn't hurt." But since he was still struggling, she said, "I think I'll wait until he's asleep to put this on." I said, "Good call!" Then I kissed him goodbye as he was falling asleep and calmly walked out the doors and back to the "holding cell" where Jon was waiting.

The surgery was scheduled for 3 hours -- beginning AFTER they placed all the sensors for the monitoring equipment -- so Jon and I went and had a snack in the cafeteria and then went to the Parent Resource Room, where we found a quiet little nook, set up the laptop, plugged in phones, and settled down to read and pass the time. At 10 a.m. we received a page and were told that the sensors were set and that surgery had begun. At 10:45, another page and we were told that the surgery was complete. That it went smoothly, without a hitch, and that his motor and other sensors "improved dramatically as soon as the pressure on the spinal cord was relieved". We were to meet the doctors in the ICU waiting area. Kyle would be in ICU to monitor his fluid intake, his bowels (as spinal cord injury can affect that), and to manage his pain. We met with Dr. Avellino who, again, stated how smoothly and how well this procedure went. We could see Kyle, in about an hour, once he was settled in the ICU.

Relief, was the foremost emotion at that moment -- followed closely by gratitude! Thankfulness for yet another miracle, another gift from God, our boy (okay, young man) was going to be all right, he would heal and the effects of the pressure on his spinal cord would not leave lasting damage. Jon, with a huge smile on his face, said to me, "This is better than Christmas!"

The following photo shows the difference in what we saw entering the ICU, in comparison to last time.In this photo -- Kyle is signing for the phone -- he wanted to call "Papa". That was the first thing, and right after that he sat straight up and said, "Okay, lets go!"

Kyle had two nurses -- one during the day, and one at night -- both were named Mark -- although one was spelled Marc. We were sharing an ICU suite with a nine-month-old baby girl who was pretty sick, and Kyle would get worried everytime she cried.

We weren't in his room long when Kyle wanted to "go bowling" on Jon's phone. He loves that game and it amused him for a few minutes.

Blowing the wrapper off his straw.

He did so well! Everyone who walked in to the room would have him perking up and saying, "Hello, how are you?" One of the attending's on the ICU floor asked why he was in the ICU and Mark (the day nurse), who Kyle kept saying "Know what? You're a butt.", and calling him, "Mark, Mark, Mark" everytime he'd turn away -- and raising his hand for attention. Mark said, "We rarely have patients in the ICU who can talk to us -- this is great" and probably annoying....but he was a great sport.Brad came to visit and Kyle was so happy! (Video to follow in another post)
We brought Kyle's camera and it was the best thing! He took video's -- not pictures-- of everything. I had to erase some. But it kept him occupied and happy. We also brought movies. They brought him baked fries from the cafeteria for dinner -- he wouldn't eat them, he sniffed them and then rejected them.

One of the few times he "cat-napped" -- he didn't really sleep, even that night, only for a few hours. The next morning when they did rounds, they invited me out and said again that he didn't need to be in the ICU and they were looking for a bed for him....but that the surgeons felt he was doing so well he could go home "today".
This is Millie -- a service dog -- that comes to greet patients. Kyle loved her!

They found a bed for Kyle on the orthopedic unit at about noon -- we went downstairs, he drank some juice, ate some applesauce and bread, walked for the P.T., saw the orthotics people, and the orthopedic nurse practioner came in and discharged him. She kept saying, "You just don't go home day one post-op when you've had a spinal decompression, you just don't!" and then she said, "We had to move him down here because you just don't discharge a patient from the ICU -- it isn't done." She showed me the before-and-after CT's and it was very interesting to see the difference in the space for his spinal cord. So we were discharged and home before 6:30 p.m. What was slated to be a 4 day stay, was down to one day. Kyle was HAPPY to be home. That night he slept 14 hours.

We pulled out Kyle's walker and he is using it and it has helped him with his mobility and stability. He continues to heal and progress. I continue to feel thankful! I know he's feeling better when he sings at night -- last night he sang along with the soundtrack to the "Sound of Music" -- TWICE before he fell asleep.

We appreciate all your faith and prayers in our behalf! We are so blessed!